


Tricks and Treats

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Las Vegas (TV 2003)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-22
Updated: 2004-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1628561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>April Fool's Day hits the Strip</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tricks and Treats

**Author's Note:**

> Written for hafital

 

 

Tricks and Treats

Fandom: Las Vegas

Pairing: They're all doing it. Just not in this story. Sorry.

"Hey, Danny. You ready?" Mike Cannon asked while bouncing into the surveillance room. This was the first year he would have the chance to be on the giving instead of the receiving end of the Strip's April Fool's pranks.

It never failed, every year the security departments of the major casinos (and some of the minor ones, too) planned elaborate tricks to play on each other. But after the Pink Tuesday of '72, the casinos decided to take a more organized look at the whole affair. Since then, the casinos had taken a page from the secret Santa tradition of Christmas. Each casino pulled another participating casino's name out of a hat on January 2nd. They then had just three months to plan, and pull off, a prank against that casino.

Sure, there were casinos that tried to get around the rules and prank other places--the less said of the Flamingo volcano, the better. But, everyone agreed to one thing. The Montecito was the king of April Fool's Day.

"Uh, yeah," Danny McCoy replied noncommittally while watching the security monitors. Well, one monitor.

Mike smiled ruefully as he patted his friend's shoulder. "Come on, man." He turned Danny around to look him in the eyes. Danny wasn't fast to turn, though. His head, and eyes lingered over camera 16. "We have to get started. We only have seven hours left."

The head of the Montecito, their boss, and quite possibly the scariest man on Earth, took that moment to step out of his office. "What are you two still doing here?" Ed Deline demanded.

"We were just going," Danny said, finally looking away from the monitors. His movements belied that statement as his hand reached across the desk to zoom in camera 16.

***

At the other end of the Montecito, Mary Connell looked up at the unobtrusive security camera and smiled. She could tell herself she did it as her silent "thank you" to the guys who kept the casino safe. But she knew it was really a vanity thing, even if she never admitted to that knowledge. A lunch with Mitch confirmed her theory: Danny watched her.

She might have returned the ring, but Danny still had her heart. Ok, that was too Hallmark, even for her. Mary didn't have time for syrupy-sweet thoughts anyway. She was waiting to welcome a guest and headline performer.

It wasn't every day the Montecito could convince Charo to do a charity performance. Not that she was against them. She was just so busy with her tours that pinning her down was a lot like catching the proverbial snipe.

***

Three miles away Danny and Mike synchronized their watches. Timing didn't really matter in their plans, but they had grown up watching caper movies. The guys ALWAYS synchronized their watches.

Well, OK, Danny synchronized his watch. Mike had his connected by Bluetooth to his computer, which set it to within a millisecond every morning.

Mike had done the hard part already. Over the last week he had spent most of his work hours, and much of his down time, hacking into the Flamingo's computer system. They could have done it the old-fashioned way: have friends call and make reservations under assumed names. But this was more fun. Plus, Mike could bill it as research by pointing out how he could add in protections against his hacks into the Montecito's mainframe.

Mike's hacks had reserved two floors of the Flamingo for what the hotel thought was a gathering of sports team mascots. This was a boon for any hote; sports mascots were known for throwing parties that were legendary around Vegas.

And it wasn't exactly a lie. The reservations were for sports mascots. Of course, it was Danny who knew that there was a mud-wrestling league, and that league had mascots.

Danny and Mike knew that if they were seen anywhere near the hotel, the jig would be up. Which is where Mike's skills came in handy again. If Danny were honest, he would admit he really had little to do with the actual mechanics of preparing for the prank. But his "people skills" did round out the prank pretty well.

The security pros were in the back of a delivery van surrounded by electronic equipment. This was part of Mike's requirements to help with the deed. He had always wanted to have a super-secret spymobile. Ed had given him the chance to build one. Now, they were staring at a row of screens showing them the main casino, the penguin park, the two floors reserved by the mascots, and the main entrance.

***

Mary laid on her patented casino host smile as Charo and her entourage entered the hotel. The tiny tornado of energy took one look at Mary and clucked her tongue. "You and I need to talk later."

"Uh, ok?" Mary said, afraid she'd missed whatever conversation that statement ended.

"But, first, I need to see the stage." The Latina star said while waving her hands expressively.

"Right this way," Mary said while leading Charo and a gaggle of other people and cases to the Montecito's main stage.

***

It was starting. The casino hosts looked to each other when 500 pounds of high-grade potting soil were ordered for room 601. But, really, it wasn't the strangest thing anyone had requested.

Then 602 ordered five kiddie pools and 40 gallons of Alhambra sparkling water. Again, not the strangest thing. A bit kinky, but not strange.

603 then had 200 yards of plastic tarp delivered.

The hosts didn't have much of a chance to think about it, though. Other rooms on the sixth and seventh floors were ordering so much food and alcohol that the catering department was screaming at the hosts about not being prepared for the demand. The hosts gritted their teeth and avoided pointing out they had warned catering about the mascots' arrival.

Mike started the second stage of the plan. He typed a few keystrokes and set the security cameras on the sixth floor to use a feed he had captured a week ago.

"Gus? You're on," Danny said cryptically to the person he had embedded in the hotel.

Mike and Danny watched the real security feed as the dirt was moved to 602 and the plastic tarp was laid out along the hallways and half way up the wall. As the tarping neared completion, squads of tough-looking guys and scantily-clad women carried the kiddie pools into the hall. As one, they poured the mud made from the soil and the bottled water.

After Mike and Danny spent a moment admiring the mud wrestling skills, the turned the camera feed back on so the Flamingo's security could see the prank.

***

Mary stood off to the side of the stage, her arms crossed contentedly hugging herself. Charo was just wrapping up the closing set of her act--a solo flamenco performance.

Charo bowed and did one last "cuchi, cuchi" for the fans. She swept off stage and pulled Mary with her. "So, who is he?"

"Excuse me?" Mary asked.

"The man. The man who is making you all tense!" Charo's hands moved faster than the rest of her did. Mary had to jog to keep up.

"There isn't a man making me all tense!" Mary said more defensively than she should have if she really wanted to be believed.

"Oh, honey. We both know that isn't true."

Mary sighed and sat down. "Well, there is; but there isn't. You see he's in love with the image of me, not who I really am." She then spent the next 20 minutes pouring out the last few years of her life to someone who by all rights shouldn't really care.

Yet, she did.

Mary was so caught up in her story that she failed to witness Charo ushering away everyone who wanted a few minutes of her time.

"There really is only one option, isn't there?" The songstress asked while handing Mary more tissues. "You must let him get to know you. Don't try to please him. No man is worth that. Please yourself instead. If he is worth keeping, he'll stick around."

Mary nodded and wiped here eyes.

"Now, go. Find yourself." Charo hugged Mary and pushed her towards the door.

***

The guys were positively bouncing as the entered the Montecito. Shouts of "Who's da man? We's da man!" could be heard all over the casino.

Big Ed Deline met Mike and Danny near the Mystique. "I take it it went well?"

"Oh yeah!" Danny said while high-fiving his partner in crime.

"Good, good," Ed said while raising himself up a little. "Now, how about you get back to work?" The question was entirely rhetorical, and they all knew it.

"Just going there now, boss," Mike said.

Mike and Danny nodded once more to their boss and headed on. Danny made it six steps before a new sight stopped him. "Mary?"

"Yes?" Mary blinked her eyes and smiled.

"Where are you off to?"

"Art class," she responded hefting the large clipboard and art paper into a more comfortable grip.

"I didn't know you took art class!"

Her smile widened. "I know."

 

 

 


End file.
